Using a mixture of oil paint and egg tempera, NIU alumnus Louis Wright Shields created a revival of 15th century paintings.

DeKalb Gallery, 161 E. Lincoln Highway, features Shields’ oil painting exhibit called “SKY” through April 30.

Shields’ painting method was inspired by former NIU art professor Patrick Betaudier, Shields said.

“My paintings are a recording of natural phenomenon and emotional narrative,” he said.

Shields’ life-size paintings cover the entrance walls of DeKalb Gallery.

“His images look like they have life; the way he paints clothing is remarkable,” gallery owner Dan Grych said.

Shields develops a human-like feeling with each person depicted in his paintings, Grych said.

“He uses full images of people and places them in settings he calls ‘sacred places,’” Grych said. Shields’ use of backgrounds and human placement develops a mood throughout each painting, Grych said.

Shields creates detailed settings and places a human figure in each one.

“The lives of the figures are directly involved with the content of the work. I am painting in an autobiographical maze of memories and experiences that has led me to my present artistic incarnation,” Shields said.

He said he named the exhibit “SKY” after the skies in the DeKalb area.

“You get an endless sky and land with no separation that I wasn’t getting in other areas,” Shields said.

Shields graduated from NIU in 2002 and currently teaches art at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights.

“It didn’t take him long to get a full-time job. He has worked hard and gives hope to other NIU students,” Grych said.